I stood there in silence, staring at the silhouette. "Ancient One? You want me to call you… By a title?" The silhouette looked away, placing its arms behind its back. Think of it as you will, it will make things a lot easier for us down the line.
'Down the line'–?
He was making it sound like he was going to stick with me. "Okay… Then, may I ask what you mean by 'down the line', Ancient One?"
It's rather simple. He looked back at me. I am joining you on your journey.
…Ah…
So he is planning to tag along…
I took in a deep breath, before letting out a heavy, heavy exhale. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I already have enough with—"
I am aware of your situation and how many others are with you. But even then, I will ask to accompany you. The silhouette cut me off completely, his voice stern and unchanging. It seemed as though a simple 'no' wasn't going to be enough to persuade him into reconsidering. "I seriously don't think that's necessary–"
Besides, He cut me off again, causing me to grow a little annoyed. The Ancient One looked at me with what I could only guess was a very serious… expression. Or at least, what would have been a very serious expression, if he had a.. Face.
It is not something negotiable. I have already merged with your Individual Skill 'Enlightened'.
My eyes widened for a second.
He did what? Instantly, my eyes darted away, to try and open the status window. After a bit, it finally opened. As soon as it did, I frantically made my way to the skill list and… Enlightened was gone. Completely disappeared from my skill list. Instead, in its place was a new skill – located in the same category as the 'Djinn' skill I've had for a while now.
Arc Skills
-Djinn; Arc Skill
-Ancient One; Arc Skill
A little lower, in the subskills list, I now had three new subskills as well – all of them being ones belonging to 'Ancient One'. 'Analyse', 'Identify' and lastly, what I had before… 'Enlightened'. I was beyond shocked and even confused. What– or rather, when did this happen?
When did I lose 'Enlightened'— when did it get replaced by this new 'Arc' skill and three subskills? None of this made any sense. I looked back at the Ancient One with a more cautious gaze now, moving my arm behind my back to form a small shadow dagger. "..Who…. What are you, and what have you done to me?" I asked, slowly moving to the side to circle around him. The silhouette remained silent for a bit, observing me, before exhaling.
I understand that it may be a little bit surprising for you to see this, however I assure you that I have no ill will—
Before he finished, I quickly closed the distance between us, extending the dagger into a full blown spear – aiming to quickly take off this thing's head. However, as soon as I got close, my entire body stopped. It felt like I had suddenly been restrained by invisible chains.
Every time I tried to move, it felt like the air itself around me grew tighter around my body. Then, the shadow spear disappeared and once again, an informational window appeared in front of me.
[ ALERT ]
Your skills have temporarily been disabled.
The only exception to this is the Rare Skill 'Mimic'.
[ ALERT ]
"What on earth—?!"
I told you already, I am not your enemy. I would appreciate it if you did pay attention to what you were being told. Then, the Ancient One flicked his right hand down, causing my body to land back onto the ground, the previous tightness surrounding it disappearing completely. I looked at my hands for a second and then at the Ancient One again, this time with a more nervous look.
"Why should I trust or believe you? You have… invaded my body, replaced one of my skills and now I assume disabled all of my abilities apart from the one allowing me to maintain this appearance." I narrowed my eyes a bit. "Not exactly a recipe one would use to make themselves trustable."
I admit, my methods have been extreme. And I apologise for entering your body and merging with one of your skills without your permission or knowledge. However, if you allow me to simply explain everything, I'm sure we can reach a mutual understanding.
Despite my rather… rash actions, the Ancient One remained calm and collected – Completely unfazed by my actions. After a bit, I exhaled and backed up a bit, crossing my arms. "...Fine. I'm listening." The Ancient One nodded.
Thank you. Now… Then he lifted his right hand up, before snapping his fingers. In an instant, the entire 'world' around us changed. It shifted – the black space being replaced by many, many different information windows. Pages upon pages of different texts, each one unique from the other. It was like I was surrounded by an infinite amount of information from all sides. It was… a bit mesmerising if I have to say so myself. "What is this…?" I pushed out.
I call it the Nexus. Or rather, the Nexus of World Wisdom, though, that name doesn't roll as well off of the tongue. The Ancient One stated, before reaching for a few pages to his left, picking them up and throwing them towards me. The pages quickly flew over, before circling around me – the pages displaying… Images. There was no text, just– Images.
Specifically, images of… Me.
The 'fight' with the Sixtails, the fight with Iyka, the fight with Arvalor, the fight with the Southern Beast, the accidental confrontation with Erwin, the fight with Odale… Wait— all of these were my biggest and toughest battles so far. But how on earth–?
I have been watching and following you for a long time now, Faofa. Or would you prefer if I called you Komeno Riyo instead? For a second I froze up, thinking about how on earth he knew the name I had in my past life. But then I remembered that I had registered as an adventurer under the name of 'Riyo', so it wasn't all too surprising that he would know it.
"...Call me Faofa. Riyo is an old name and…. It's associated with a person I no longer really am." The Ancient One remained silent for a bit, before nodding in acknowledgement. Very well. I shall refer to you as exclusively Faofa then.
Then he swung his left hand to the side, causing the papers to quickly rush past us for a second, before he stopped it, looking through them for a moment. After a bit of rummaging through the countless pages, he picked up one that was filled to the brim with text and then threw it at me. Here, some of my personal notes that I took about you, while observing you on your journey so far.
"Notes about me…? Kind of creepy behaviour, but I suppose I'll let it slide…" I commented to myself before exhaling and looking down at the paper he had thrown at me. On it was a long, long list of unorganised, messy notes – each one in some way capturing what I assumed were his initial thoughts about me as well as general opinion about what I have been doing up until now. And honestly— the detail that these notes went into… Was rather terrifying.
Borderline 'stalkery' if you ask me.
I assure you, I took these observational notes purely for educational purposes. I had no ulterior motives. The Ancient One, as if hearing my small comment, stated. I looked at him with a slight sweat on my face, before turning away a bit.
Rather weird how easily he can seemingly read my mind…
Well, I am connected to your soul directly now, so—
"Okay, okay! I got it. You can hear my internal comments. No need to push that so hard." I cut him off, taking in a deep breath before throwing the paper back towards him. "...Why did you observe me anyway? I don't think I'm interesting enough to be observed in such… detail." I said, looking at the paper I had thrown back at the Ancient One.
He caught the paper, before gently tossing it back amongst the vast ocean of information surrounding us. I beg to differ. You are the most interesting being to observe in this world currently, though, that is mainly because of your nature and connection to the World itself.
My… nature?
Connection to the 'world'?
I was even more confused now. "...Elaborate..?"
In short – I know that you're an otherworlder. Specifically, that you're a reincarnator.
Ah… There it was. I mean, I kind of already suspected that he was aware of that fact, but having direct confirmation from his own mouth about it was definitely nice. But, if he knew about me being a 'reincarnator' then… "You also know about Arabor… Right?"
Naturally. It is unusual that a Primal Dragon would place such a level of trust in somebody, especially someone they had just met. The Ancient One commented, before snapping his fingers. Behind me, appeared an enormous shadow, one that was roughly shaped after Arabor's upper half of the body. I shed a sweat as I threw my look at the shadow – The energy radiating from it… It was as immense as when I first gazed upon the Abyssal Dragon.
His essence is within you – dormant. Waiting. Waiting for the day it may exit your body and manifest back into a body of its own. He explained before looking up at the eyes of the shadow. Honestly, it is surprising that you haven't been shattered yet. The essence of a Prime God is nothing to scoff at.
"Yeah… I kind of gathered that when I first met him…" I commented before exhaling. "Then you also know about my promise to him..?"
Surely that is not a serious question.
Well, sorry for requesting a bit of clarification on what you do and don't know–
The Ancient One cleared his throat. …Yes, I am aware of the promise between you both. I'm aware of anything and everything connected to you. Including the strange connection you have with the World.
Second time now…
What 'connection'?
"Care to elaborate on this 'connection' you're talking about..?"
The Ancient One remained silent for a brief moment, before shaking his head. Perhaps some other time. We don't have a lot of time to spare, so it's better if we just move onto the main thing I wanted to discuss with you. The Ancient One then clapped his hands together. Instantly, the Nexus' around us quickly encircled us, before coming together into a single enormous stack of papers. Then, they disappeared. For starters, allow me to explain exactly how you… Or rather, we have ended up in this situation and how I am now part of your 'abilities'.
With a snap of his fingers, the entire world around us disappeared.
Everything went dark. Pitch black.
Then, after a moment, a small flame appeared in the endless darkness around us.
Long ago, there was a man who sought out the wisdom of the world.
He wished to garner knowledge and archive it all in one spot. This man was known by many different names and titles, however none could truly describe what he was like.
Some considered his mission noble and admirable.
Others considered his mission pointless and foolish.
But the man gave little to no care about these echoing voices – he was far too focused on his one wish to give them any care. With time, the man gathered more and more wisdom, slowly building up the archive he had dreamt of.
The archive began small.
Then grew and grew, and grew, and grew…
Each page within it, handwritten by the man.
There were plenty of other things that the man managed to accomplish in his life, all of which earned him more and more recognition. But none of that mattered to him. His mind was far too focused on fulfilling his single wish.
To make the archive an endless point of knowledge.
A place where anyone could come to learn.
A place where opinions and feelings mattered little. A place, where objective truth reigned, with none to oppose it.
However…
The man was still but a human.
A mortal like the rest.
There was only so much he could learn and so much he could document. There would come a time, when he would no longer be able to gather knowledge. A time when he would no longer be able to expand the archive. A time when the knowledge he had already gathered would be irrelevant.
This thought — this truth, scared the man.
So, he sought for a way to overcome his mortal limits. A way to push beyond them. A way he could collect wisdom endlessly, till the very end of time. A method which would allow him to leave behind the limits of his mortal being and continue building his wish.
And eventually…
He found one.
With the knowledge and extensive expertise of the world, the man found a "solution" to his "problems".
He created a spell.
A spell, which would break him free from mortal restraints.
A spell which would allow his consciousness to ascend, while keeping his personality and memories intact. A spell which would allow him to endlessly expand his archive, till the end of time.
However…. Such a spell had a price.
A price, the man had not realised.
After preparing all he would need for it, as well as a backup plan in case it didn't work, the man carried out the spell. And… To say things went wrong, would be an understatement.
The spell – it worked.
It worked too well.
The man's body was torn apart, erased from existence, while his consciousness and soul was merged together – before his awareness was lifted up high to the heavens.
The man got what he wanted.
He had broken away from his mortal limits – but in return, he had destroyed himself. Only his essence remained, nothing more. He had gained near endless wisdom, yet had no way to use it himself. Because of his new state, he couldn't continue creating the archive nor gather more knowledge.
He was no more than a lost spirit now.
….However, the man did not allow that to be the end of him.
He wasn't about to allow his life's work to just disappear. He still wished for the wisdom he had gathered to be of help to the world… No, anyone who could benefit. So long it wasn't wasted and all for nothing, he would be satisfied.
So, with the last bit of his strength, the man performed one final spell which would bind him to a small object. And then… He would wait.
Wait and wait, and wait, and wait…
For days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries… With time, it became irrelevant for how long he waited. What did he wait for?
Anyone.
Anyone to find the archive.
Find him.
And once they did, he would lend them his knowledge and power. It mattered little if the person who found him was wicked and evil, pure and righteous… Or someone that wasn't even from this world at all. So long as the knowledge he had spent his entire life collecting didn't go to waste — he would be satisfied and at ease.
…
Then, everything returned back to where I had been before. The Ancient One stood before me once more, simply staring at me with his arms behind his back. I looked around a bit, a little dazed by the imagery that had played… in my head? While the retelling was happening.
Finally looking at the Ancient One, I narrowed my eyes.
"...Let me ask you something…"
I'm all ears.
".....Are you the one who… was called the 'Harbinger of Knowledge'?" The Ancient One remained silent. While it may seem a little out of the blue to assume that, there was a reason behind my assumption. While some parts differ, the goal of gathering as much knowledge as possible was basically spot on…
Plus, he mentioned how the 'man' had achieved many other things that earned him recognition. 'The Harbinger of Knowledge', according to Odale, was someone who mastered magic and revolutionised it forever by inventing sorcery and creating what now is recognised as the modern magic system. It is certainly an achievement that would give someone immense recognition.
Obviously I had no real way to really prove that he is the same person as the 'Harbinger of Knowledge' I was told about… But surely there couldn't have been multiple people in this world that were seeking knowledge on such a large scale, right?
…Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
He responded, looking away. Does it really matter what or who I was in the past? None of that is important anymore. I am merely essence now, not an actual person.
I remained silent. The Ancient One observed me for a bit, before exhaling. Changing the topic… I'm sure you can piece together the whole situation between us now better. Specifically, about why I have merged with your skill and partially your soul.
"Uhh… Not really?" I rubbed the back of my neck.
I wasn't exactly good at piecing loose and rather cryptic information together. The Ancient One remained silent before sighing and facepalming lightly.
…In short, upon touching the small totem that my essence had been inside of before, my 'essence', or rather, I, entered your body and became a part of your soul. Consider it a bit like a parasite attaching itself to your body. He started, before placing his arms behind his back. However, due to the fact that your soul is much, much more powerful than my essence, I was about to be sent to the depths of your soul, where I would be basically sealed away. To prevent that from occurring, I quickly converted my essence into an incomplete skill, which I then merged with your existing skill 'Enlightened' to complete it as well as evolve it.
The Ancient One continued before looking at me with what must have been a slightly worried expression. Or in other words – I mimicked the act of skill merging, simply in a more controlled and specialised way, which allowed me to control what the result of the merging would be.
After he finished his explanation, he tilted his head to the side.
Do you understand it now?
"...I think so, yeah." I nodded gently. There was still something I could have asked him about, specifically in relation to 'skill merging' and what it was, but I figured it was better to do that at a later date. Exhaling, I rested my hands on my hips. "So, you're basically part of me now?"
Sort of.
I'd consider it more of me being part of your abilities. The Ancient One slightly corrected before brushing his chin gently. In a way, I took over the functionality of your 'Enlightened' skill as well as took it down a different evolutionary path.
I see…
That's easy enough to understand… I suppose. "..Is this really not reversible?" I asked. The Ancient One shook his head. Messing with souls and essence is very dangerous. My essence is already spread dangerously thin from what I've done to it. If I tried to remove it from your soul by force, not only could it damage your soul but it would also more than likely destroy me.
I expected as much.
Laughing to myself lightly, I rubbed the back of my neck. "What a pain… You should have at least maybe first asked for my consent…"
Even if that had been possible, you would have declined.
Well… I suppose he isn't wrong there.
I don't think I would have accepted it, even if he did somehow ask for my consent first. After a moment of awkward silence, I took in a deep breath and exhaled. "So, then I suppose we'll be stuck together from now on."
I would prefer it if you didn't make it sound like it is something negative.
"...Sorry."
It's fine. The Ancient One let out a small, fake cough. But yes. We will now be together from now on. There is nothing that can be done to separate us.
Nothing huh…
Part of me wondered if I had just signed up for something I would regret later down the line. However, another part of me weighed down the benefits versus the potential cons. I mean, for the most part, it seemed like a great deal. An upgraded version of 'Enlightened' which even had a separate consciousness to mine, which would allow it to potentially work more efficiently and faster? There wasn't anything bad I could think of about that.
Though, at the same time, a consciousness being behind one of my skills could also prove to be a con. After all, now it wouldn't simply be something that would respond to my every command, no questions asked. It'd be able to decide for itself.
Stretching out, I cleared my mind from all those thoughts.
"Then," I looked at the Ancient One. "I hope you prove to be useful to me down the line."
The Ancient One nodded, before bowing towards me. I shall do my very best Faofa… No — Master.
…Feels a bit weird to be called that, but then again, Avy calls me her 'darling' sometimes and Odale calls me 'Lord', so it wasn't something I wouldn't get used to fast or too out of place.
Now then, with that settled… The Ancient One clapped his hands together. In an instant, I was back in the archive. Looking around, the Ancient One was gone and so was the black space that had surrounded me moments prior. For a moment, I even thought that maybe it had simply been a dream that I experienced. However…
[ NOTICE ]
Your skills have returned to full function.
Connection to the Vessel re-established.
[ NOTICE ]
…The window reminded me that what had just happened, definitely had been real.
Now then Master, shall we head back to your friends? They're most likely worried about where you might have ran off to.
…It was a bit trippy to hear him speak in my head like that, however I quickly shook away that feeling, before placing my hand on my head, exhaling. "...I doubt any of them are awake yet. Unless I somehow spent several hours here."
Hardly. It had been barely an hour and a half since you left the camp.
Good to know, I suppose.
Looking around the archive and the countless stuff in it, I couldn't help but feel a little hesitant about simply leaving all of this behind. Like, this was a near limitless source for all sorts of things to learn – history, magic, sorcery and so on. However, after a little bit, I turned around and moved back to the entrance to the archive. "One thing Ancient One…"
Yes Master?
"...Try to refrain from speaking suddenly in my mind. It's really trippy."
…Very well. I shall try to minimise the suddenness of it.
And with that, I left the archive behind – together with what I suppose I could call a new companion. The Ancient One helped me with the entrance on the surface as well as finding my way back to the camp. When I got back, luckily everyone was still asleep and Arvalor was there guarding. After recalling the Shadow Beast, I took my spot in the night watch once more, throwing a slight gaze at the others that were still resting.
After a bit of pondering, I decided that I wouldn't tell them about Ancient One or the archive I had found. Not only would it earn me a scolding for going off alone, especially in a place like this — but I also figured that, at least for now, it was better to keep it a secret.
Looking at the crackling flame of the campfire, I narrowed my eyes.
"...What a strange night it has been."
Meanwhile…
Iyka and Arabor were playing another round of chess, with Arabor winning by a landslide. While observing what the next move the kitsune would make would be, a sudden familiar feeling fell over Arabor, before the entire soul space they were in gently shook. Iyka paid it no mind, however Arabor looked up at the 'light' above them both, narrowing his eyes.
"That's… strange…" Iyka finally made her move looking at Arabor. "...Lord Arabor? Is everything alright?"
Arabor remained silent, before closing his eyes for a second and looking down back at Iyka. "Yes, everything is fine. My apologies." Then, after taking one look at the board, he made his move, causing Iyka to shed a slight sweat as she began debating on what to do.
"...Why…. Why can I feel Aenergin's energy here suddenly? Surely Faofa hasn't made contact with him yet?" Arabor threw his gaze up at the 'light' above them one more time. "I should keep a close eye on Faofa's soul. If anything suspicious occurs, I must ensure that I keep his soul safe."